Details in the journal Nature reveal that platensimycin works in a completely different way to all other antibiotics by acting to block enzymes involved in the synthesis of fatty acids, which bacteria need to construct cell membranes.
Most classes of antibiotic were discovered in the 1940s and 1950s, and work by blocking synthesis of the cell wall, DNA and proteins within bacteria.
Most modern antibiotics are simply new variations of this basic idea and the fact that they work in similar ways may be one reason why bacteria are developing resistance to them.
So a new class of antibiotics with a different means of action could represent a completely new breakthrough.
The researchers discovered platensimycin, which is produced by a strain of the bacteria, Streptomyces platensis during a project in which they screened 250,000 natural product extracts for antibiotic potential.
Professor Tony Maxwell, who is carrying out similar research at the John Innes Centre (JIC) at Colney in Norfolk, said: "This sounds very promising.
"A number of big pharmaceutical firms have pulled out of antibiotic drug discovery.
"With MRSA cases increasing, and the number of new drugs on the market decreasing we very much need new drugs in the pipeline as soon as we can."
Although platensimycin sounds a most promising discovery it is only in its initial stages of development and could be several years before it is ready for use as a treatment for people.
